Research Library Issues, no. 294 (2018)
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14 Association of Research Libraries Research Library Issues 294 — 2018 return to throughout the design process and help avoid the problem of individual staff members holding different assumptions about the project. What Do We Want to Retain? This question recognizes that there are successful elements in the current approach that the organization wants to preserve in the redesign. By starting with what is known and acknowledging what is working well, the library can prioritize what it values and bring focus to the design efforts. What Is It Like to Be a Client? This question is essential to developing a solution that works for users—not just one that satisfies the organization’s preferences. By exploring this question, the library can discover “pain points” and suboptimal solutions in the user experience, and then work proactively to resolve them. What Do We Need to Build? Once the organization has surfaced assumptions, committed to shared values, and identified user pain points, it can start to consider possibilities for a new model. The library might derive potential solutions from brainstorming, from investigating similar organizations, or from looking to adjacent sectors that have transferable approaches. The key is to measure all proposed solutions against pre-identified success criteria and select the most promising options. What Are the Constraints to Implementation? It may be easy to describe the ideal solution, but, in reality, libraries have to keep the constraints of their local contexts in mind. Some options might be too expensive, some might require more staff than the